‘Since the existence of the brown dwarf desert is the signature of different formation mechanisms for stars and planets, the extremely close proximity of OGLE-2016-BLG-1190Lb to this desert raises the question of whether it is truly a ‘planet’ (by formation mechanism)..’

Brown dwarfs are objects so massive that they generate heat, in the range of about 148 to 204C but they’re not massive enough to sustain the nuclear fusion that powers main sequence stars.

The planet is approximately 22,000 light years away, so its not somewhere we can hop on over and check out, but further observations could help clarify the object’s status.

It could also help shape our perceptions of low-mass stars, brown dwarfs, and oversized exoplanets .